1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a technology to simplify setup of image quality by a user. Particularly, the present invention relates to a setup-screen display controlling apparatus, a server apparatus, an image processing system, a printing apparatus, an image pickup apparatus, a display apparatus, a setup-screen display controlling method, a program, and a data structure.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, users have increasing opportunities to print out images taken by digital cameras. For example, there are increasing opportunities for users to print images by using, for example, self-service printing apparatuses installed at shops or printing systems owned or managed by the users.
Accordingly, mechanisms for assistance of printing operations by the users are provided in such printing systems for self-service printing. The mechanisms include a function of automatically correcting the image quality, which is prepared to print highly attractive images.
Amounts of correction used in the function of automatically correcting the image quality are often set to average values preferred by the statistically greatest number of users in advance in order to avoid complicated setup operations and to support both a wide variety of users and printing of diverse images.
However, the appropriate amounts of corrections are varied depending on the preference of users or the content of image data. Consequently, the correction by using average values that are statistically set does not provide printing results most suitable for the preference of the users or the content of the image data even if print results having acceptable image qualities are provided by the correction.
Accordingly, a function of reflecting the preference of each user is added to existing image processing. For example, a mechanism of specifying an arbitrary color or area to adjust the color tone of each color or area is provided in the existing image processing. However, existing correction technologies have excessively high flexibilities and, therefore, it is difficult to yield desired correction results.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2004-234251 discloses an image forming apparatus having a function of correcting, for example, the brightness, hue, contrast, and sharpness of an image by selecting an optimal color profile from multiple color profiles prepared in advance.
However, the technology disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2004-234251 has problems in that it is complicated to register in advance personal information, such as the age and address of a user, and that the correction on the basis of correction items including the brightness, hue, contrast, and sharpness is not matched with the skills of users. In other words, this technology is unkind to users who have no specialized knowledge but is too rough on users who have the specialized knowledge.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2005-267485 discloses an image forming system that receives and stores results of printing by users and reflects the states of the print results in control parameters, as needed, in image formation.
However, the control parameters are only average values preferred by many users and are not correction values optimized to the preference of each user or the content of image data. In addition, since the control parameters are average values for the many users, there is a problem in that the users cannot confirm how their preferences are reflected in corrected images.